Bait receptacle



0a. 11, 1949.- H, 5, oss 2,434,122

BAIT RECEPTACLE Filed Aug. 24, 1945 IN V EN TOR. flax 144205 245$ 4 ae/viy Patented Oct. 11, 1949 UNITED sures FAT Q FFICE;

3 Claims.- 1

This invention relates to aebait. receptacle; and; more particularly to areceptacle for holding: varioustypes ofearthworms used as bait;

The various types ofiearthwormsrused byfishermen as'bait are generally stored w-ith a mass of earth in a container untili used: As the upper portion of the earthwithin the container tendsto: dryout, the wonnsimrariably will form in' a massuat the bottom of the container, where the earthis more moist. A fishermam therefore is forced to either jostle the. container: in. an at tempt to force the worms tothe top, or-to :actually spread the earth with his hands to. reach the wormsat the bottom of thecontainer.

It has been heretofore: proposed to furnish. a containersuitable for holding earthworms with a rake devicewhi'clrwould actually rakeithe worms from thebottom of the container and draw themto the top. This device was objectionable for it tended toout andshred the worms. Thus, after: the device was operated several times; the ma jorityof the worms were: mutilated: and their eiiiciency as-bait decreased.

The present invention obviatesthe difficulties: previously. had in storinglivevearthwormsfor the containerinwhich: the worms are stored is; so mounted that eitherend of the same be movedto an. upper position relative to: the other end. In: the novw preferred: embodiments of, the invention, the container iszopen at the one. end. thereof and a covermountedtby a: spring pressed hinge. normally closes the: opena endof the container; The container is so mounted? thatv it is normally supported. in an, inverted position with: the open, end; thereof lowermost, 'Ihus-,. even though worms do; work theirway to the: lower.- most. portion; of: the container; they are: readily accessible; when. the: container swung; to-move: the open: end thereof. to the, uppermostpositionz In one embodiment of the device of the pres-= ent invention; the, container is adapted; to: be supported bypan. article of clothing-,asuch as the belt, of the: user. The, container is. pivotally; mounted: on the belt. engaging memberyandi as the pivotal axisis'located'adjacent the closed. end of the-container and is: displaced: 1aterally'f rom" the center. or gravityof the same, thecontainer: will normal- 13; swing. toa position: in which. the open: .end' closed by; the cover. is: lowermost- As the container is normally supported intaninverted position,.the worms',.azlthouglr,theydo workdownainto; the moist earth, will. nevertheless be: readily ac:- cessible when the container issw-ung upwardly tobring; theopen end thereofc to amuppermost position;

To: prevent, the container from; rockingabout the: pivotal? axis: as the user moves about, the: belt. engaging means by: which the containeris pivot-ally supportedl is; formed with a. resilient. catch: or latch: member which; engages the cover: when: the containerismoved into its normal"; invertedv position. The latch. member not only holds: the container against movement relative to the support, but also augments theaction of the spring ofthe hingeby which the cover is mounted to the container.

When it' is desired to-removea; worm from-the container, the latch member is released and the container is rocked upwardly until the cover can be swung back to an open position. It is not necessary tohold' the container'in theposition in which the openend is uppermost; for means are provided for'supporting'the container in this position. The means are 50 located relative to the pivotalaxisthat when the container is upended, gravity holds the container against the .su-pporting. means.

In another embodiment'of; the present, invention, the. container is. 'pivotally, mounted on a stanchion which can be supported on any relatively flatsurface. The pivotalaxi's-in'this em, bodiment. of, the. invention. is also. so located. relative tov the centerof gravity of the container thatv it-will. normally be. disposed, with the open end thereof in alowermost position.v A latch member carried: by the stanchion engagesand, holds the container against: movement relative to the stanchion when the container is-in its normal inverted-position so that, the device can be carried by; a user without. obiectionable rocking movementofi theicontainer.

As the container can be easily: released from the latch: member and. then, swung to present the end closedby. the cover asinithe earlier described embodiment of theinvention; worms which will have tended to Work to the; lowermost position; of; the earth will: be? readily accessible when the cover is sWun-gtbacletoexpose the openendr ofthe container:

The, stanchion is :formed with; a-support for enaging: the? one end of; the container to support the; samethevertical position in which the open. endv is uppermost. The dispositionofthe center. of, gravity of the container 'such thatgr-avity willzhere againiholdithe container against:

the: support whenit isv swung upwardly tobring-v scription taken in connection with the accompanying drawings in which:

Figure 1 is a side view of one form of the container of the present invention showing in solid lines the container in its normal inverted position and showing further in broken lines the position of the container when it is moved into the position in which the open end thereof is accessible; i I

Figure 2 is a front view of the container of the. present invention Figure 3 is a perspective View of the container shown in Figures 1 and 2; and

Figure 4 is a view similar to Figure 3 but show-' of the present invention.

The bait receptacle of thepresent' invention,

referring now to the drawing, and particularly Figure 1 thereof, comprises a container or receptacle ll) of any material suitable for storing moist earth. In the illustrated embodiment of the present invention the container H! is formed at one end with a semi-cylindrical wall 52 the purpose of which will be hereinafter more fully explained. The container 'is open at the end opposite to the wall l2 and this end is adapted to be'closed by a flanged cover l3 mounted by means of a spring-pressed hinge M attached to a wall of' the container adjacent the open end thereof. The spring lea of the hinge l4 normally holds the cover l3 against the openend of the container, but allows the cover to be swung back when desired. a

In the form of the invention shown in Figures 1, 2, and 3, the container is pivotally mounted between a pair of ears l5 carried by one leg of a U-shaped clip .member l6 adapted to be mounted to the belt of a fisherman or to some other convenient portion of his clothing. The container is pivotally mounted between the ears [5 by. suitable pivot pins l! which ma comprise small fiat-headed rivets fixed to opposite walls of the container and loosely, mounted'in aligned apertures formed in the ears l5. 7 It will be noted that the axis of the pivotal connection between the container-and the cars is disposed intermediate the belt or clothing engaging portion of the clip l6 and a Vertical line passing through the center of gravity of the container and is located closely adjacent the closed end thereof. Thus, when the container is moved to, a position in which the center of gravity is displacedto the right of the pivotal axis, the container will be moved by gravity into a position in which the open end of the container is lowermost. The function of the wall I2 of the container should now'be obvious and it will be seen that as the wall is semi-cylindrical, the container can be positioned closer to the supporting clip l6 than would be possible if the end wall was substantially'normal to the side wall of. the container.

To prevent the container from swinging when the fisherman or user is in motion, the clip it is formed'with an elongate finger !8 having at theloweredge thereof a detent or hook member I 9 adapted to ride over the flange of the cover [3 and outer surface of the latter when the container is swung downwardly into the. position shown in full lines in Figure 1. It will be seen that the finger l8 and its detent l9 form a latch member which will not only hold the container against accidental movement relative to the clip, but will also augment the action of the spring hinge and prevent the cover [3. from being moved back from the open mouth of the container l0.

As the container is normally held in the inverted position shown in Figure 1, worms held by the container as they tend to work down into the moist earth at the lowermost portion thereof, can be readily removed from the container when the same is swung upwardly to move the open end of the same to an uppermost position. This obviates the diiiiculty had in previous bait containers, where fit was difficult to remove a worm from the container due to the fact that the worms worked down into the moist earth at the bottom of the container. To obviate the necessity of holding-the container when it is swung upwardly to the position shown in broken lines in Figures 1 and 3, the clip H6 is formed with a support 28 for engaging and supporting the semi-cylindrical wall 52 of the container. The support 223 may be conveniently formed by partially lancing a substantially. rectangular piece from the one leg of the clip it and then forming the partially lanced piece into a curved shelf-like support adapted to partiall embrace the semicylindrical end or the container.

It will be seen that when thecontainer-is swung upwardly to the position shown in broken lines in the figures referred to above, the center of gravity. of the container is moved to the opposite side of the said pivotal axis. This shifting of the center of gravity, as should be understood, resuits in gravity tending 'to hold. the container against the support it.

If desired, means may be provided for more positively holding :the container in in the upright position, and although this means may take diiierent forms, in; the embodiment of the in-v vention illustrated this means comprises a ball detent 2! which isadapted to ride into a circular depression 22 formed in at least one of the ears 85. The material of the ears i5 is sufiiciently resilient topermit the detent to move into locking engagement with the depression 22.

In an alternate form of the deviceof the present invention, referring now to Figure 4, a container 23 is pivotally'mounted by-means of pivot pins 24 between a pair of ears 25 carried by a stanchion member 25. The container 23, as in the earlier described embodiment of the invention,'is so mounted between the ears that it will normall swing to a position in which the open end thereof is facing downwardly. 1

In the preferred form of this embodiment of the present invention the stanchion member, including a pair of oppositely directed pedal members 21, and the ears 25, are'fabricated from a single piece of sheet metal stock. It will be seen that the stanchion 26 and its pedal members 2'! permit the container 23 to be supported on any fiat surface such as the floorboards or a seat of a boat.

The container 23 is provided with a cover member 28 hingedly connected to the same through a spring pressed hinge'29 such as described in connection with the earlier form of the device. The container 23 is held against accidental swinging movement when in its normal inverted position by a'resilient finger 3Q partially lanced from the stanchion 26' and formed at the outer end thereof with a detent or hook member 35. The resilient finger 39 and its detent 3i serve the same function 'as the finger Win the embodiment of the invention illustrated in Figures 1 to 3 inclusive. i. j I

'To permit the :device. to .-ibe more readily carried, the pivot pins 24 are formed with suitable openings for receiving the opposite ends of a bail 32. The ends of the bail are pivotally mounted within the openings formed in the heads of the pivot pins 24 so that the bail can be swung down against the stanchion 26 so as not to hinder movement of the container 23 when it is desired to expose the end closed by the cover.

As in the earlier described form of the invention, the container 23 is formed with a ball-like detent 33 adapted to be engaged in the circular depression 34 formed in at least one of the ears of the stanchion member. The detent 33 will augment the action of gravity and more positively hold the container 23 in the position in which the cylindrical wall thereof is engaged by the shelf-like support 35 carried by the stanchion member 26.

The container 23 in the embodiment of the invention shown in Figure 4 is intended to be of a larger size than that provided in the form of the device shown in Figures 1 to 3, although for the purpose of illustration it has been shown as similar in size. This embodiment of the invention is intended to be used in the same manner as the embodiment earlier described. It will be seen that the present invention obviates the difiiculties had in storing live earthworms for bait as it provides a container which will be normally held in an inverted position so that the worms which will have worked down into the moist earth of the lowermost portion of the container will be readily accessible when the container is swung to an upright position in which the cover member may be moved back to expose the open end of the container.

Although the now preferred embodiments of the present invention have been illustrated and described herein, it is to be understood that the invention is not to be limited thereto, for it is susceptible to changes in form and detail within the scope of the appended claims.

I claim:

1. A bait receptacle of the type described comprising: a clip adapted to be attached to the clothing of an angler; a pair of ears carried by said clip at opposite margins thereof; a container open at one end and including a cover for closing said open end; means for pivotally mounting said container between said ears; means carried by said clip cooperative with means carried by said container for holding said container in a position in which said open end is uppermost; and means carried by said clip, separate from said last named means, adapted to engage said cover when said container is moved to a position in which said open end is lowermost for holding said cover in closed position and said container against accidental movement relative to said clip.

2. A receptacle for storing in a mass of earth angle worms which normally seek the lowermost region of a storing receptacle comprising: a container open at one end thereof; a cover member for closing said open end; a support; means for mounting said container on said support for swinging movement so that said container can be swung to a normal position in use in which 6 said open end is lowermost whereby the worms within the earth or the like held by said container will seek the lowermost portion of the same adjacent said open end; means for engaging said cover member when said container is disposed in its normal position with the open end thereof facing downwardly for holding said cover member against accidental opening movement; and means for holding said container in a position in which said open end is uppermost when said container is swung thereinto so that said cover member may be moved to uncover said open end and permit removal therethrough of a worm from the earth held by the container contiguous to the open end thereof.

3. A receptacle for storing in a mass of earth angle worms which normally seek the lowermost region of a storing receptacle comprising: a container open at one end thereof; a cover member for closing said open end; a support; means for mounting said container on said support for swinging movement so that said container can be swung to a normal position in use in which said open end is lowermost whereby the worms within the earth or the like held by said container will seek the lowermost portion of the same adjacent said open end; a resilient finger projecting from said support and engageable with said cover member when said container is moved to said normal position in which the open end thereof is lowermost to retain said cover member in closing position relative to said open end and to releasably hold said container against accidental movement, said finger releasing said container for swinging movement to a position in which the open end is uppermost; and means for holding said container in a position in which the open end thereof is uppermost so that a user may move said cover member to uncover said open end and remove a worm through the same.

HOWARD S. ROSS.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 871,440 Reed Nov. 19, 1907 875,270 Irish Dec. 31, 1907 1,556,127 Pruett Oct. 6, 1925 1,611,275 Lewis Dec. 21, 1926 1,630,393 Ledden May 31, 1927 1,657,152 Dahl Jan. 24, 1928 1,745,769 Schroedter Feb. 4, 1930 1,921,208 Scruton Aug. 8, 1933 2,278,793 Myers Apr. 7, 1942 2,303,067 Richard Nov. 24, 1942 FOREIGN PATENTS Number Country Date 726,127 France May 23, 1932 766,213 France June 25, 1934 386,418 Great Britain Nov. 8, 1934 419,222 Great Britain Nov. 8, 1934 491,775 Great Britain Sept. 8, 1938 525,703 Great Britain Sept. 3, 1940 

